Yesterday, thief in law Nadir Salifov was released from jail having served a long sentence.

Azerbaijani thief in law nicknamed Guli may rightfully become the next leader of the thieves.

The thief in law aged 45 who has spent 22 years in jail is out on parole, as CrimeRussia’s sources predicted back in spring. He was released yesterday and left for Georgia right away, being its citizen by birth. After that, he is expected to go to Istanbul, the city that has long been the hub for many "crowned" thieves from Caucasus.

Even while in prison, Guli had a huge influence on a part of the criminal world, both on thieves and on other community members, especially in places where the Azerbaijani diaspora was present. Now if anything, his clout should grow.

He is likely to replace Rovshan Lenkoransky, the thief in law murdered last year, which could be assumed after the reports came earlier this year that Dzhaniev’s underboss Agayar Agayev (aka Sedoy, the Russian for “grey-haired”) who used to control the Yekaterinburg vegetable base #4, is now representing Salifov’s interests. And this is despite the fact that Guli could not be called a friend of Rovshan Lenkoransky, to put it mildly.

Ilham Osmanov, the Chelyabinsk underboss, also keeps in touch with Salifov.

Another trump card Salifov has is that, with the weight he has, he has been able to avoid direct confrontations with the influential thieves in law (except for Rafik Masallinsky, who has not had an enviable fate). The thief in law managed to remain neutral during the fierce struggle between the clans of Ded Khasan and Taro. For example, the ultimate boss Shakro Molodoy is still seen more as Usoyan’s successor. He could elevate his authority in this role if he tired and harmonized both clans. However, the only thing Kalashov managed to do was "freezing" the conflict. Perhaps Guli would be more successful in this journey, unless, of course, he would prefer to leave everything as it is. After all, someone else's war should not concern him; especially since the key criminal figures of the post-Soviet states are the ones seeking his friendship.